Water absorbtion

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HighLineCBR

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
104
How can i drain the water out of the foam? is this even possible? I know there is water in the foam because i can see it through a small hole through the floor.

I can probably fit a small gauge hose through it and try to suck it out. But my guess is that its not going to be able to take every bit out.

Any other tricks?

its a 23' DOnzi
 
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PiratePast40

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Mar 21, 2009
Messages
1,734
Re: Water absorbtion

Afraid there's no tricks involved. You'll need to remove the deck and chip, chop, and pull the foam out. If the foam is soaked, there's a good chance the stringers are also water saturated and rotten.

It's decision time and you really need to do a realistic evaluation of how much you like the boat. In most cases, restorations aren't really cost effective from a resale point of view.

I know that isn't what you want to hear but that's what it is. If it helps, you're not the first one. Head on over to the restoration area to see what you're in for if you decide to repair and rebuild the hull.

Good luck.
 
smokeonthewater

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
Re: Water absorbtion

well now hold on a second...... there is a big difference between a little water setting on/in the foam and the foam being water logged.... Go weigh the boat/trailer without fuel and then weigh just the trailer..... subtract the two numbers and compare to what donzi says it should weigh.... if it's fat then yeah you have a project..... if not suck out what you can, dry the area with a hair dryer and seal the hole to stop the water from getting back in
 
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HappierWet

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Messages
839
Re: Water absorbtion

smokeonthewater said:
well now hold on a second...... there is a big difference between a little water setting on/in the foam and the foam being water logged.... Go weigh the boat/trailer without fuel and then weigh just the trailer..... subtract the two numbers and compare to what donzi says it should weigh.... if it's fat then yeah you have a project..... if not suck out what you can, dry the area with a hair dryer and seal the hole to stop the water from getting back in
Click to expand...

What he said. Don't jump into a big tear down unnecessarily. Get the info, then make a decision. BUT, realistically .....it's probably not good.
 
stylesabu

stylesabu

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 2, 2009
Messages
849
Re: Water absorbtion

can't he also just take a core sample near the rear of the boat, some place discret? My aluminum boat was water logged from transome to about 3 1/2 ft from transome. foam was heavy no doubt about being water logged.
 
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HighLineCBR

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
104
Re: Water absorbtion

Thanks guys. i wont go into a big project with this, at least not now. Will go into this season as is.
 
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DianneB

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Messages
303
Re: Water absorbtion

I just spent the last 2 weeks replacing the sole (floor) and ripping out water-soaked foam on a 1987 21' Sylvan that hadn't been in the water in 2 years. It wasn't that bad a job, 3 weekends.

I found it was very easy to assess where the foam was waterlogged simply by pushing a nail into it. If the nail went easy and squeaked, it was dry. If the nail went hard and quiet, it was soaked.

The factory foam out of the Sylvan was so saturated with water that it took 2 of us to lift a large garbage bag of foam out of the boat.
 
dozerII

dozerII

Admiral
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Messages
6,527
Re: Water absorbtion

My 82 16 ft Marlin was so waterlogged when it froze in the the great white north it expanded and tore the fiberglass seam 4 feet allong the starboard side. When I removed it and hauled it to the dump, the plywood, carpet and saturated foam weighed 450kg appro.900lb. I found a chunk of this foam under my work bench a year later, that when compressed water still came out of it.
 
DukesFin

DukesFin

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 12, 2005
Messages
500
Re: Water absorbtion

Here's how I fixed mine:
DSCF1023-1.jpg


DSCF1022.jpg


Good luck! I hope yours is better!
 
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HighLineCBR

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
104
Re: Water absorbtion

wow! thanks for the pictures. Im not up for that jut jet. maybe next year...
 
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